Glowsticks as a survival item

Do you guys know glowsticks contain hydrogen peroxide, which could be used as an emergency disinfectant.

It could also be used to start a chemical fire if you have certain other chemicals and are soaking wet and cold.

Think outside the box!

So in your brick and wood house with your little backpack, you will survive but there will be no tanks apcs or helicopters left.

OK Dude.

Im assuming SHTF means angry mobs and armed gangs, military shooting people in the streets after dark and all manner of other dodgy serious shit.

Chemical fires????

I'll stick to my trusty Zippo thanks. And if that runs out of fuel, I have my Bic. And if I dont have that, I have wax dipped matches in my wallet. And if I didn't have that, you can use any lens to focus the sun and make a fire.

Use number 1000 and 1.

Or make a bomb!!

No, just some dude with a rifle, who hangs out with other dudes who also have rifles.

I'm sure troops overseas cant really affect me here.

Wont be "urban" in any case. Lots of wide open spaces in the US still....

Yeah there is nothing wrong with that, but stuff like potassium permanganate can be used as a disinfectant/antiseptic, can be used to treat fungal infections, can be used to disinfect water, although iodine/chlorine is probably better and can be used to start a difficult to light fire.

Even the SAS carry some of that shit around with them.

Out of a handful of glowsticks and low purity hydrogen peroxide, not likely.

Point of my argument is, if you are already carrying them anyway they have lots of uses beyond producing light. they are not exactly heavy either.

People dont use a machete just for chopping wood, you can use the edge of the blade with a flat stone for grinding certain seeds and barks to make a crude flour.

Last Edited by Dr Discordia on 06/27/2011 04:45 AM

I think we would be avoiding unmanned drones as well.

Thats my thinking.

If im still alive SHTF cant be that bad and i would expect some rogue elements of the military may have survived, if not i certainly expect gangs of now ferral dogs and people to be pretty common.

Avoidance is 2/3rds of survival in that case.

YES!!

Matches are fucking stupid, too.
Cigarette lighters all the way!

Just kidding, you'd need break fluid too anyway.

If you have them DON'T add them to your bugout bag or home kit because they're a stupid waste of space.

And forget the shake-powered flashlights because they don't work worth a crap.

"Break Fluid"????

I assume you mean brake fluid, but if you want to see some real shit, try using gasoline.

Never used my machete to make flour. My hand crank grinder does a better job.

The best use for glowsticks has already been mentioned. -Night fishing.

My bad

I would say avoidance is 100% the game here. Any contact with an enemy force should be on your terms and on ground of your choosing.

It's all about the bushwhack...

Yeah for like 5 minutes!!!!

A couple in your fishing gear is not going to weigh you down so you can no longer move, either....

Stock up on glowsticks - open the first gay bar after the apocalypse!

LOL! I used to use that avatar!

I don't understand why anybody buys glowsticks for anything outside of a rave concert.

Cut open and pour the glow goo on the ground.....call the cops and tell them you shot at a alien....

Glow goo......hmmmm

any more Fuking radiation and we will all have glowsticks.

I find them very handy during power outages at night to find my way around the house and the bathroom. No fire hazard as with candles, they last all night, and they are very easy to operate. when attached to a string and swung around in a circle, they also help first responders find you in catastrophe in the dark. They make good markers for helicopter landing zones. You can use them for reading in the dark. I buy a couple ten packs every year at walmart during halloween season. Already picked up 2 bags this year. I've got enough for a couple months. Kids feel more secure during a power outage if they have them, too. Flashlights are great, too, if they work. Yeah, your high dollar ones may work all the time, but most people get the cheap ones, the batteries sit around for too long and start leaking or don't work, etc. The chemlights are good for years. Several will fit in your pocket and not weigh you down like D cells. Keep a couple in your glovebox too for emergencies.

They create just enough light for a sniper to see you and not enough for you to see him. Fuck em'.

One of their features is that they are disposable. Meaning if you need to look down a hole, or way down a pitch dark hallways, you can pop one, shake it and toss it where you do not know if its safe to go.

They are water proof up to serious depths, thus you can swim with them, move about in the rain, drop them in water without the risks of losing light.

The ones I have last 8 hours (brightly) and up to 12 hours in various dimness.

If you are sitting in the dark, a glow stick that lasts all night is easier and safer than a candle, lamp to have burning all night. Further, you want to save that flashlight for exploring, and emergencies in an emergency situation.

They have a purpose and a function and should be part of any emergency kit along with flashlight(s).

One 8 inch long stick hung in the middle of a standard living room is enough to allow people to see enough to walk in that space without tripping over stuff and other people.

Handy for emergency use and very specific use like night diving...one attaches them to their scuba tank and it really does help...and easy to keep track of dive partners-as one carries an underwater light but it is not luminescent...so the spectrum does not carry as far in darkened waters

This thread was a complete bust until the last several comments. Besides a a few in the first page I knew straight away that I was in the midst of idiots.Glowsticks have dozens of uses and prob hundreds idk about yet.

I tried to forget most of the ignorant comments posted by armchair survivalists but a few I can't shake. I'd like to see your flashlight last 12hrs on anythining of comparable size. I hope you have lenses for that flashlight for both tracking and nightvision. The packs in this house carry a min of 24 in each pack, 12 of their designated color and 6each of red and white.

Just take a week long hike and see how long that beloved flashlight lasts creating ambient light which it wasn't meant for, hope you've got a pocket full of batteries and yes most decent lights worth investing in are running off the cree bulb could very well be subject to EMP. Ahh I'll just toss this fashlight over the edge, surely I'll be able to recover it but if not I've got a couple dozen in the BoB!